I N T E R V I E WDownload an interview with Douglas as he discusses his life as a photographer and his approach to his work as an artist.

The Fine Art of Photography

The unique aspect of photography that sets it apart from other visual art media (save cinema) is that the camera produces a literal image for the subject. For the fine art photographer it is also the crucial and ongoing challenge to make unaltered photographs that are intelligent and compelling. A photograph is full of facts, but is also capable of containing great mystery. This is what I strive to embody in all my work. To go beyond the surface—the appearance of the subject—and suggest that there is more to be known, is for me, most important. I find the natural world endlessly fascinating, inexhaustibly rich with suggestion and mystery.

“Photography has been a passion for me for more than 50 years. I’ve always preferred to work with black and white film and produce silver gelatin prints.

“After working as a photojournalist for about 15 years, I was dissatisfied with that type of photography, finding my artistic sensibilities and preferences taking me into fine art where I've worked ever since. I work now in terms of ‘projects’, which are self-generated ideas and involve me for a few months or, in a few cases, years. The ply of natural light on anything has long fascinated me and for years now I’ve regarded such light as the real subject of my work.

“Venues for my work are primarily galleries and museums, an occasional book, and now the internet. Subjects have included: an off-stage, more intimate view of Bob Dylan in 1964, at home and with friends; several projects in Italy; photographs of uncontrolled growth of weeds in the suburban landscape; the Financial District of New York in 1965; gardens; and domestic architecture in New England.”